Man invents edible spoons

Observing the water depletion problem caused by growing rice cultivation in his country, India, Narayana Peesapaty decided to do something about it.

He hit on the idea of edible cutlery after noticing that staple bread roti – made from millet, a crop that requires about 60 times less water to cultivate than rice – was edible yet, when hardened, could serve as a ladle or spoon.

What started as an idea over time turned into a business, Peesapaty in 2011 establishing a company called Bakeys, the world’s first purveyor of edible spoons.

He told Tech in Asia that the company used three type of flour, namely rice, wheat and sorghum, but mostly used a millet base for its spoons, which are available in savory, sweet and plain versions.

With plastic spoons sold for as little as 1 US cent in India, Peesapaty’s edible spoons, which cost 3 cents, also help to reduce the use of plastic.

“The cutlery is meant to be eaten after use. If you don’t want to eat it, just throw it away and it will decompose entirely,” he says, adding that besides spoons, the company’s products were planned to later include chopsticks, dessert spoons and forks. It also plans to produce cups, plates and other disposable tableware.